At Your Standout Brand, we believe everyone has value. We know that it’s both your VALUE and your ability to connect your PROFESSIONAL VALUE to the right opportunities that drive a well-developed, well-communicated Professional Brand. We know first-hand how a strong brand makes a strong connection. And it’s a compelling connection that makes you STANDOUT.

“Values are like fingerprints. Nobody’s are the same, but you leave ’em all over everything you do.”

Elvis Presley, American Singer & Actor

In the commercial branding world, storytelling is an effective way to make lasting connections.  We also use the storytelling as a method for engaging and bonding with the prospective employer or client by communicating what makes you unique, and professionally valuable.  Stories evoke memories, leave a lasting impression, and generally make you more memorable.  How can you use storytelling effectively without sacrificing the authenticity that defines a sound brand?  Use the S.T.A.R. technique – Situation – Task – Action – Result – as the framework to keep your story on-point.  Let’s break it down. 

Situation – Always start the story at the beginning by telling where YOU are.

Task – Next, you define the job YOU were tasked to complete. 

Action – Here’s where you tell how YOU tackled the task and what YOU did to accomplish the goal.  Include a specific or a ‘for example’ to make your story interesting and to prove you own the value you are asserting.

Result – Always finish with a single sentence clearly stating YOUR accomplishment. Make sure to quantify your result by giving percent improvements, final sales figures, or other measurable numbers. 

The STAR process done properly should take 2-3 minutes at most.  With practice you will easily be able to share a compelling, firsthand, on-point answer to the open-ended interview questions popular today.  

Now, how do you know which story to share for which question.  Well, that takes a bit more effort, and it’s worth investing in this aspect of the process. We use an Interview Keyword List we’ve developed as a checklist for organizing your stories.  Our checklist is organized by the VALUES employers are looking for when making a hiring decision.  Recounting your experience or telling your story is the most engaging, memorable way to PROVE you own each valuable trait.  In this step, you will identify a ‘PROVE IT’ story that answers any question related to this value. Ideally, you will have 5 or more PROVE IT stories for each keyword on our checklist.  And, by using S.T.A.R as the framework as a guide, you will be able to deliver a cogent, thoughtful, sufficiently detailed story that ends with a punch – your provable, quantifiable result. 

Your professional values are the foundation of your professional brand.  The more value you have, the more you are worth.  The better you are at connecting your value to the job requirements, the more you will STANDOUT.  The stronger your professional brand is, the stronger your bond is to the opportunity.  

Do you want to learn more on how to effectively communicate your professional brand?  Visit our website at www.yourstandoutbrand.com for more about how to STANDOUT from the crowd with personalized coaching and training from Your Standout Brand.  

Your Standout Brand | Personalized Coaching for Your Professional Growth

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